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WPP, the advertising group, has told more than 100,000 of its staff they will have to return to work in the office at least four days a week, in the latest sign employers are tightening work at home policies since the pandemic ended.
In a memo sent to employees on Tuesday, WPP chief executive Mark Read said that “since the beginning of April this year, the expectation . . . it would be that most of us spend an average of four days a week in the office”.
He added that “WPP's success still depends on the foundations of human communication, creativity and relationships”, and that “we do our best work when we are together in person”.
Until now, independent agencies under WPP had established their own hybrid working policies but staff at the group's headquarters had to be in the office three days a week.
The news makes WPP, which employs around 110,000 people in offices around the world, the latest major global employer to ask its staff to return to the office entirely in the new year. Starting this month, Amazon told employees worldwide that they should work in the office five days a week, chief executive Andy Jassy said the previous rule of three days a week at work “reinforced our belief in the benefits” of being in the office.
In the UK, BT asked its 50,000 office workers to return to the office at least three days a week from the beginning of this year. Other UK employers tightening rules this month around working from home include PwC, Santander and Asda, marking a widespread shift in working attitudes since the end of the pandemic worldwide.
WPP has found that higher levels of office attendance are linked to “employee engagement, improved customer survey scores and better financial performance”, Read said, adding: “Many of our customers are moving in this direction and expect to be in functional teams to work.” too.”
Employers now sometimes face new issues regarding the lack of office space when bringing more employees back to work from home.
WPP said it would “undertake detailed planning over the coming months to address energy and other related needs” at its global offices.
The UK-based advertising group will soon open a new office at One Southwark Bridge Road in London, which will mainly house the GroupM media agency and around 2,500 people. It was the former headquarters of the Financial Times.
The new office will join Rose Court across the road and its corporate headquarters at nearby Sea Containers House as one of three office campuses in London, where it employs around 10,000 people.
In the new year memo, Read also referred to a meeting between the two biggest rivals – IPG and Omnicom – announced last month, saying that “while business consolidation and competitive edge may disrupt our competitors, focus will be our priority in 2025”.